Cap for armor-piercing projectiles.



W. A. BURTON.

GAP FOR ARMOE PIERGING PBOJ-EGTILESJ APPLICATION FILED FEB. 10, 1914.

Patented May 19, 1914.

COLUMBIA PLANnnRAPl-l 60-. WASHINGTON n c Iran srarns PATE T @FMQEQ WILLIAM ARTHUR nnn'ron, or snnrrrnnn, nneLAIvn, ASSIGNGR TO wasnnveron STEEL & onnNANcn CQMPANY, on wasnrneron, DISTRICT or COLUMBIA, A con- POBAATION OF WEST VIRGINIA.

' CAP non ABMOR-PIERCING PROJEGTILES.

Patented May 19, 1914.

Applicationfiled a ay 10,1914. Serial no. 817,869.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, WILLIAM ARTHUR BURTON, a subject of the King of Great Britain, residing at Shefiield, in the county of Yorkshire, England, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Caps for Armor-Piercing Projectiles; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had tothe accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, and to the figures and letters of reference marked thereon,

This invention has for its object to provide a cap for armor piercing projectiles having the long contour best suited for flight and which shall be equally effective against armor plate at normal and at oblique impact.

In the accompanying drawings,Figures' l and 2 are sectional elevations of armor piercing projectiles with caps of known construction. Fig. 3 is a similar view showing the presentinvention.

Like letters of reference in the several fig ures indicate the same parts.

It has hitherto been found that in order to obtain good results upon normal impact,

principle arefound to be comparatively in-.

effective and experienceshows that it is necessary to have considerable amount of cap material in front of the point of the projectile, shown in Fig. 1. On the other hand such a cap is inefiective at normal impact because the material in front of the point of the projectile is set back upon impact, destroying the radial inertia and lateral support of the cap material surrounding the point of the projectile.

By the present invention I" provide acap so constructed that there is considerable amount of metal in front of the point of the projectile as required for oblique impact but which is capable of moving back over the head of the projectile without destroying the lateral support afforded by the rest of the cap. r

The invention is best described as fol-' lows: Fig. 3 of the drawing shows-point A of armor piercing projectile surrounded and supported by a metal cap B secured thereto by any preferred or ordinary means, such as the circular key If. The front portion of this metal cap is cut away as shown to form a conical recess 0 surrounding the point of the projectile. Resting on the very extreme point is a ball of soft metal I) of suitable dimensions and shape held in place by a windshield E, also of soft metal fixed to or integral with the main cap B as may be found convenient. 1 The action of this cap is as follows: Upon normal impact the windshield E and ball D are driven back and over the point of the projectile A until the rear surface of the ball D comes into contact with the front surface of the cap proper B,in so doing filling up the recess C and it will not be until the recess C is completely filled that the radial inertia of the cap B will be affected by the backward motion of the ball D. At this stage the cap will function in the same way as a solid cap having the general shape shown in Fig. 2. On oblique impact the ball D willibe thrown over to the side of the projectile which is farthest from the plate and will, in so doing, form a cushion of soft metal on that side which will give support to the point of the projectile where it is most wanted and where the caps hitherto employed fail to give a sufficient support. Further, the inertia of the main cap B willbe unimpaired until the ball D is movedtolthe position where it is required to be to permit ofthe most eflicient functioning' of the cap as a whole.

' Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is:

l. armor piercing shell embodying a pointed body, a cap surrounding the body adjacent the point, and a ball of soft metal spaced from the cap and supported in line with the point of the body in position to be forced back around the point and into engiagfiment with the cap by the impact of the s e 2. An armor piercing shell embodying a pointed body, a cap surrounding the body adjacent the point, and a ball of soft metal spaced from the cap and supported in contact and in line With the point of the body in position to be forced'back around the point and into engagement With the cap by the impact of the shell.

3. An armor piercing shell embodying a' pointed body, a cap surrounding the body adjacent the point and having a /cavity therein around the point, and a ball of soft metal spaced from the cap and supported in line with the point of the body in position to be forced back around the point and into the cavity by the impact of the shell.

t. An armor piercing shell embodying a pointed body, a cap surrounding the body adjacent the point and having a cavity thereinaround the point, and a ball of soft metal spaced from the cap and supported in con tact and in line with the point of the body in position to be forced back around the point and into the cavity by the impact of the shell. 7

5. An armor piercing projectile embodying a pointed body, a cap surrounding and secured thereto and having a cavity in its forward end around the extreme point of the body, and a ball of soft metal supported in line with the point and forward of the cap and adapted to be set back into the cavity by impact. a

' 6. An armor piercing projectile embodying a pointed body, a chambered cap surrounding and secured thereto and having a cavity therein around the extreme point of the body, and a ball of soft metal supported in the chamber in line With the point and adapted to be forced back around the point and into the cavity by the impact of the shell.

lVILLIAM ARTHUR BURTON. Witnesses:

ALEXANDER S. STEUART, THOMAS DURANT.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0. 

